


Ma'am let us have this dance tonight

by Sofia_gothicquirks



Category: Keeper of the Lost Cities Series - Shannon Messenger
Genre: F/M, also this is a two shot!, but the romance wrote itself, sophie and keefe are dorks together, they're bestfriends and romantic partners and ain't that the goodest, this was actually supposed to be gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-16 05:35:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29448645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sofia_gothicquirks/pseuds/Sofia_gothicquirks
Summary: Keefe and Sophie had always have quite the story with Elwin's Healing Center so it is only natural that their first actual date happens there.(Sokeefe special Valentine's day with Amy Foster being a supportive little sister and #1 Sokeefe fan)
Relationships: Sophie Foster & Keefe Sencen, Sophie Foster/Keefe Sencen
Kudos: 17





	Ma'am let us have this dance tonight

**Author's Note:**

> Valentine's day happened and I got sudden romantic urges so I decided to write some good, cute and cheesy Sokeefe greatness to heal my soul. This is a two-chapter story and I would personally say it's set somewhere after Unlocked but before the end of the series. Enjoy!

Two hours after _that_ totally not deadly incident, at least by the young Telepath and her friends’ standards, Elwin dutifully declared her on a “rest mission” and forbade a soul from entering the Healing Center until Sophie was fully recovered. It might have been the dad-like authority of his tone or the natural aptitudes of the physician but neither Grady nor Edaline questioned it and Sophie only had time to figure out how many hours she was going to waste here before her parents hugged her and reluctantly left. Her friends came in just after, a worried Dex and Biana positively reassuring her that none of her responsibilities would magically disappear while she was laying there. And as they left, Sophie decided she hated herself, she despised everyone and that she was mostly and rightfully mad at the world until Keefe winked and whispered a “I’ll find a way to come here” promise.

Then, she smiled.

Much like everything involving Keefe and sneaking around, it slowly turned into a routine without her even noticing it. Sometimes he would visit after dinner, accompanied by a grumpy Ro and her specially sassy taste in jokes; sometimes he would turn around the corner of the Healing Center as the sun fell down and Elwin left her for the night. Sometimes, she would see his shadow hiding rather badly behind the door, like he thought no one would expect him to be ditching his afternoon lessons. And some mornings, she would catch a glimpse of his hand waving through the window of the lonely room, a sparkle in his ice-blue eyes cheering her on for the day. Those last moments were so rare, she would often wonder if it was a work of her hell bored mind. But those doubts rarely lasted long.

Sophie was a brain’s person, the rational kind, and _rationally_ speaking, it was simply difficult to imagine that such teasing eyes and such a caring smirk could be the unfortunate products of her imagination - even during her times in San Diego, she hadn’t been known for unicorn fantaisies or fairy dreams. Those were her sister’s specialities and Amy certainly had been an ardent defensor of driving their parents crazy about it. Sophie still remembered when she had had to spend the entire afternoon with her mom, picking the right fairy puppet for her little sister’s eighth birthday. For her annoying little sister.

_For her annoying, loving and missing little sister._

But more than a rational person, Sophie was a trust-issue one too, and she knew it; she assumed that years of hearing less-than-friendly thoughts about oneself could do that to a person.

Yet, somehow, the little familiarity and oddness of those small signals were more than enough to tell her that Keefe had come to see her everyday, like he had promised to, and it was a nice routine for a change. One she definitely could get used to without much problem.

Sophie had never been used to stability. But she had been to rationality, and _rationally_ speaking, her friend was here, and she was fairly and warmly confident he would always strive to be.

* * *

He came after midnight, that sunday. And the way he looked, young and scrappy and careless, it remembered her of their first years together at Foxfire, two friends whose worries were limited to how many detentions they got, the incoming mid-semester exams and the Black Swans rhymes. Two friends who were way too busy teasing each to know their families and the world were falling apart. 

She missed that too, sometimes. Now they were stuck, struggling to decipher a group of terrorists schemes, dealing with scars and traitors who would impatiently wait to see them tear each other down. Which was certainly less pleasant than some detentions with Lady Cadence or Sir Bubbins whoever unappealing they might have seemed at the time. She suddenly caught herself remembering her Two-Level self frightened Councillor Bronte would expel her from Foxfire and was visited by the sudden urge to violently smack herself on the face for such stupidity. If only the grumpy asshole ruler was one of her problems, she would be getting less eyebags than she lately was. 

“Urgh.” Keefe snorted. “I can feel your incoming “I’m about to kill myself and everyone in this room” pulsions and I can tell you it is far from the hugs I was imagining I would be getting by managing by some miracle to come here without getting killed by Elwin.”

She gave him a small smile and she was positive his eyes were beaming when she got up to give him an embrace. “Sorry. I’m just angry at some stuff, I guess.”

“I can tell you are furious and frustrated and in a murderer’s mood and I wouldn’t even need to be an Empath to feel it.” He laughed. “Now, Foster are you telling me what is wrong or am I supposed to figure it out on my own?” 

She thought about telling him about the unusual nostalgia, but then again it was midnight, she could tell by the look of his pajamas that he was ready for a slumber party and they hadn’t had fun in ages so she settled for ignoring it. “And you? What are you so worked up about? I hadn’t seen you this decontracted since forever.”

Since his mother’s treason and the emotional breakdown that had followed it, in fact. 

“I am _always_ decontracted, that's part of my bad-boy style. And you are avoiding the question, you sneaky Lady.”

“I obviously am. But I am mostly curious.”

She knew he had felt her unwillingness to talk about their disastrous situation and wouldn’t push the subject any further until _and_ if she wanted to. She loved him a little more for it.

He finally grinned. “Well, I am hardly as secretive as the mythic Mysterious Miss F. so I won’t hold the suspense much longer, promise.” 

“Wrong answer. You are totally gonna let the suspense last until I can’t hold in place which I wouldn’t recommend since I have strict medical orders to not get stressed out,” she told him, hoping her emphasis on “stress” and her stern tone sounded somehow convincing. “Just spit it out already.”

“I guess you just wouldn’t be Foster if you weren’t bossing me around. Yet, we both know you are getting stressed either way.” He chuckled. “If anything being stuck between those walls is driving you as crazy as Alchemy sessions were back then. But I wouldn’t like to be the one to cause you more anxiety.”

“I’m still waiting for an answer Keefe.”

He paused for a moment, taking a moment to examine her. “Hmm, like, do you feel okay enough to leave your bed?” he quickly asked with a blush and his tiny frowning eyebrows looked cute. “I mean, seriously, do you feel fine?”

She smirked at his sudden embarrassment. “Reassure yourself. I feel better than when Fitz and Biana found me lying in the middle of Silveny’s junk like the stupid-ass I am.”

That at least, had the merit to make him laugh. It warmed her insides more than any summer day at Havenfield ever had.

“I mean, just try to understand my disappointment a little. I would’ve died to see again among Giltterbutt’s poop.” He eventually sighed. “What a missed opportunity. But I take that that you are fresh enough to move around a little”

“Okay, but _why_?”

Again, there was that unbearable pause and she thought she would strangle him before he could actually answer her. “ ‘Cause I intend to be your knight for tonight.” He winked at her but the dark glare she gave him seemed to cool off his excitement, “hey, stop hitting me with those waves of misunderstanding !”

“Don’t blame me. You are the one who isn’t explaining anything, silly. C’mon the mystery isn’t even fun anymore!” 

He nodded. “Okay. So you were asking me why I am so worryless tonight, right?” 

“Yup”

“Well, you know what Foster? I think we sometimes forget we are like sixteen. And let’s face it we do not have any super urgent mess going on right now. So I thought we should enjoy it”

She raised an eyebrow. “And how do we even do that?”

Not that she was an old grumpy lady who wasn’t down for some normal game or teen party. Contrary to what seemed to be popular belief those days, she did dream of normality. Only, it had been long. It had been weeks, maybe months since she had allowed herself to do anything besides the missions they had had to face. They had been jumbling from problem to problem lately and the moments she was allowed to be on her own to relax were so rare they had become precious. The only person she remembered talking about other things that weren’t Black Swan or Neverseen involved were Keefe and her parents. She thought, not without a certain bitterness that her youth was solely revolving around governmental conspiracies, wondered why in the hell she didn’t have other hobbies and couldn't decide if she was tired or mad about it. Probably both.

A break wouldn’t be too bad. Welcome even.

Still, she could not stop the shame for rising on her chest. Keefe was right, they were just sixteen and deserved to have some fun. But there still remained plenty of ominous what ifs left unsaid. What if they could use this time to work? What if something happened? What if she was not taking enough care of her friends? What if Keefe or Biana or Dex or Tam or Linh or any of her friends also needed a little comfort?

What if she was failing them? 

And thoughts kept on swingerling in her brain, spinning in her head until it made it difficult for her to make sense of anything going around. The feeling of vulnerability hit stronger than the ocean waves back at home, in California. 

The temptation to tag one of her eyelashes - a childhood habit she had never truly got rid of - was too strong and she did not resist it. Feeling the incoming and way too familiar, sneaky anxiety threatening to soar her throat, she tried to take small breaths first. Then, bigger ones. She felt Keefe’s hand on hers, holding it protectively and she held onto his as well. 

“Foster, no stress okay? I have got it figured out.” Keefe eventually said, squeezing her shoulder. “I even asked Amy for advice!”

The feeling of guilt was getting itself a place in her heart and she was about to tell him sorry - heaven knew the last thing she wanted was for Keefe to believe he was the cause of her anxiety attacks now and not her stupid overthinking brain. Instead she startled at the name. “My sister? Did you speak to her? How?”

He scoffed a little and gave her a reassuring smile. “Relax I’m telling you. I asked Edaline for your Imparter -seriously it was a super urgent matter! And then I called Amy and she told me about one of your human’s parties going around at this time of the year!”

She felt herself on the verge of screaming at the weirdness and possible danger of the situation - he had contacted her sister living in the _Forbidden_ cities- but smiled instead, which was only further proof that she was spending way too much time with Keefe and he was definitely beginning to rub off on her. “Should I be surprised that you managed to utilise my only-use-in-emergency Imparter just to talk with my sister about stupid plans for fun?”

“You shouldn’t and I know you really aren’t.” He smirked. “Still, fun is not stupid Mysterious Miss F. and admit it - it was pretty genius of me. You know perfectly that none of us know what to do for fun since you aren’t a fan of my marvellous pranks. Besides, I was careful to not put Amy in danger.”

“Alright.” She sighed as she got off her bed, trying to arrange her frumping dress and hunky braided hair. “So, what’s your _fantastic_ plan for tonight?”

The teasing grin he gave her as she looked back at him was perfectly clownish, but in an obnoxious clown way, and it was at that moment Sophie understood what having goosebumps truly felt like.

“I have many plans. But mission one is, if Your Highness pleases, to leave Elwin’s place and visit my absolute favourite room in all of Foxfire.”

She glared at him and snickered. “What? All this fuss just to go to the Mentors refectory? Jeez.”

“I never told you it was my _favourite_ place. Don’t act so disappointed already. Haven’t you seen how I am dressed up?” He said, pointing at himself before passing a hand over his hair. 

He did that a lot when he was nervous. 

“If you wonder, yes I perfectly noticed you put on your gulon pajamas again.” she said, and after a while decided it would be worth it to tease him about it. “You look lovely by the way.”

“I know and seriously you should say that more often. Still, you're missing the obvious Foster. What have you done to your legendary perspicacity?”

“Hmm are you preparing a slumber party?”

“A very special one.”

 _Now_ , he had her attention. She finished her braid and turned to face him. “What exactly did my sister tell you?”

“That you looked like a Zombie and that I definitely should get more original in my ideas to cheer you up.”

That was perfectly Amy-like but he was back itching at his hair. “I’ll make sure to thank her for such adorability. But there’s something more, isn’t it?”

“A man has his secrets.” He said with a light laugh, “And although you are getting pretty good at guessing mine, doesn’t mean I’ll make it easier for you. Still, I must say I’m proud of how teasing my girl is becoming.”

She too remembered the times where the littlest of jokes would make her blush. But it had been a good three years since the shy Sophie Foster had set feet on this world, on her world, for the very first time. 

“I’m just wondering why you’re so nervous about what Amy told you. I bet such an attitude is normally not in your “bad-boy” attire.”

“You’re right.” He sighed, “I guess I’m being a little whiny about it.”

“You are being a total baby yes-”

“ _But_ don’t get me wrong Foster. I’m just trying to keep the surprise until the good moment. Now get into your pajamas Ma’am. The silliest you have. I told you, we are acting like actual kids tonight.”

She smiled as she finally put back everything he had told her earlier together. _‘Cause I intend to be your knight for tonight_ , he had said with one of his sheepish smiles.

“It’s Valentine’s day, isn’t it? That’s what Amy told you.” She said, promising herself she would later find a way to kill her sister for the embarrassment she was surely enjoying putting them through. But for now…

“Are you inviting me on a date, little Knight?”

It was a little overwhelming to think about it this way, but it was sweet too. They had been acquaintances, partners, and then closer friends over the years and the reality of their romance was still settling in. Neither of them had ever put _actual_ words on what kind of flower was growing inside their hearts. They had taken it slow, and Sophie was pretty sure he was taking his time too since he knew all too well how messed up relationships had been for her. She wondered if she was not being the one acting too fast now and was about to excuse herself for her indelicacy when he beamed.

“Yup, it’s a date Foster. Are you in?”

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter two will be the actual date and the title will finally make sense there, until there hang in there folks. Stay safe I love you all!


End file.
